#development

World Academy of Sport (WAoS) and United World Wrestling Announce Partnership for ’22 Programmes

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 23) -- United World Wrestling has announced a scholarship programme that will provide its member nations with greater opportunities for people in the sports industry to build on existing expertise or qualifications.

The scholarships are being offered in partnership with the World Academy of Sport (WAoS), a leader in developing specialist education programmes in the sports industry.

The partnership will provide immediate opportunities for member federations with one fully-funded scholarship and 5, 25% scholarships available for the WAoS/University of London Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in International Sports Management. 

The online course can be completed over a period of up to five years, recognizing that industry professionals require varying levels of learning at different stages in their careers as many have limited time available. Additionally, the programme recognizes the importance of combining local context with an international overlay is increasingly more important in all aspects of sports management. Currently, there are over 100 students taking the course, representing more than 20 sports and 60 nationalities.

Additionally, WAoS is offering 100 scholarships per member federation. The WAoS Athlete Certificate is an online course developed for student-athletes between 15 to 18 years of age who want to gain a broader understanding of the tools needed to become successful and knowledgeable athletes. The course has been designed and written by content writers who regularly work with athletes and has been overseen by an expert reference group representing several international federations. 

UWW Development Director, Deqa Niamkey, said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with the World Academy of Sport to enable our members to acquire new qualifications through participating in WAoS’ leading education programmes. I encourage any member federation who would like their staff to be considered for the available scholarships to apply as this may be the first step towards an exciting new career.”

WAoS’ Managing Director, Chris Solly, said:

“We are delighted to be able to offer this second round of scholarships to the members of United World Wrestling after the highly successful launch of scholarships for the September 2021 intake.

The global sport industry is quickly rebounding.  It is becoming more professional and global. As a result, the demand for highly qualified senior managers is increasing. A postgraduate qualification can give students the extra level of skill needed to progress. Applications for the scholarship and PGCert programme will be open between October 25 and December 12 for the January 2022 intake. Interested individuals can apply via their national federations. Click here for more information about this program.

This WAoS Academic Pathway provides opportunities from high school to postgraduate education, with some of the world’s leading global educational institutions as our partners.”

if you're interested in applying, click -> PGCert Scholarship/Application Form - UWW!

#development

Baattiah first female member of Saudi Wrestling's board

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 10) -- In a significant step forward for women’s wrestling in Saudi Arabia as well as the United World Wrestling’s push for gender equality, Amal BAATTIAH has been elected as the first female member of the Saudi Arabian Wrestling Federation’s executive board.

Baattiah’s election is part of the wider strategy for wrestling in Saudi Arabia, which has witnessed rapid growth in the last few years thanks to the support and cooperation between the Saudi Wrestling Federation and UWW.

It also underlines the importance of the UWW’s development programs, which are providing immediate results in improving gender equality in wrestling. Baattiah was a participant in the Women Lead Sports Master Program, which was spearheaded by world-renowned expert Gabriela Mueller.

The Women Lead Sports Master Program has been designed to empower participants to shape the future of wrestling as a global sport, learn effective leadership strategies and techniques, and increase a diverse leadership talent pool within all levels at the UWW.

Baattiah graduated from the program in January 2022. And earlier this month, she broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to get elected to the Saudi Arabian Wrestling Federation board. Her election marks another landmark moment for the development of the sport in Saudi Arabia.

In the last few years, with support from the UWW, the country has taken important initiatives to educate its coaches and referees, developed infrastructure and focussed on the grassroots.

Since 2017, the Saudi Arabian Wrestling Federation has held coaching and refereeing courses every year, except for the break forced by the pandemic. These courses were held under the supervision of UWW-certified educators.

In January 2021, the first-ever introduction to refereeing course was conducted for women and later that year, in December, a similar course for women coaches was organized.

Olympic bronze medalists Marwa AMRI (TUN) and Clarissa CHUN (USA) attend the introduction of coaches course in Saudi Arabia, (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The country’s wrestlers have also been a part of the UWW’s More than Medals program every year for the last five years. As much as sporting skills, the workshop teaches the wrestlers life skills, which help them prepare for a career after sport.

At the same time, there have been constant efforts to improve the wrestling infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Wrestling Federation established three training centres in 2015 and one in 2018. These centers are situated in Riyadh, Dammam, Makkah and Jeddah. Over the years, the UWW has donated six wrestling mats to Saudi Arabia while the national federation has imported four more mats. In the first six months of this year, 10 new mats have already arrived in Riyadh.

On the administrative front, Saudi Arabian Wrestling Federation President Fahad ALFARRAJ was elected as a vice-president of the Arab Wrestling Federation.

All these developmental activities have shown results on the mat.

Wrestlers from Saudi Arabia participated in the World Championships for the first time in 2017. It was also the first-ever world-level participation by the country’s wrestlers since 1980.

Since then, Saudi wrestlers have been a constant presence at junior and senior international tournaments and have started to make their presence felt on the podium as well. In 2019, the country won a bronze medal at the World School Combat Games in Budapest. In the same year, four Saudi Arabian wrestlers won bronze medals at the U15 Asian Championships in Chinese Taipei.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia won its first-ever Arab Championship gold medal, with five wrestlers finishing on top of the podium at the U17 and U20 Arab Championship in Makkah. Saudi Arabia was ranked second in the championship where 12 Arab countries participated.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia will host the U17 and U23 Asian Championship and will also host the Arab Championships for both age groups for the first time ever.